تسجيل الدخول[Ona] Atremi, who is trailing behind me by a few careful steps, raised his hand as soon as we arrived on the deck, and in a raspy voice, carried on the wind, calls out to one of his rescued men. “Canys, did you bring my box?” “Aye, Captain Remi,” the large human responds swiftly. “Evain and I loaded it and set it in the hold. Shall we bring it up?” “Immediately,” he orders. “Bring it to the starboard side. We need to launch.” A low growl escapes my lips as I look out onto the water and see how swiftly my brother is outpacing my husband, who is chasing Primus on one of our swiftcrafts–a solar-powered dinghy that can travel at 5 times the speed of a wind-powered schooner. In any other situation, he should be able to catch whatever prey he is seeking. But my little brother is in a rage, and when he gets like this, tends to hurt himself as he pushes past his limits. Which, to my dismay, has been elevated. He is swiftly coming into his true power as King of the Terran continent. Ev
[Ona] Atremi’s gray eyes look sincere as he sits there chained to my bed, his face turned up towards me like he was still my loyal champion, and not the deceiving snake his recent actions have revealed him to be. I wish I could still trust him, and yet, in all honesty, even without what had happened to Orion and Primus, I’d have been angry seeing him here, sitting possessively next to my oldest daughter. Our history is long and deep. We’ve saved one another countless times on the battlefield, and before meeting Daax, I would have said he was my closest confidant. And when my world fell apart, when I found myself unable to manage an existence without my mate, Atremi was the one to help me piece myself back together again. And when my daughter went missing, he was the first person I contacted on the surface to keep an eye out for her and report back what he discovered. And he did, eventually. After he took her for his mate. I want to trust him, but the betrayal feels even more pe
[Ona] My crew parts like a tide crashing against the shoreline as I move through them with the determined steps of a pirate on a mission for blood. This anger isn’t just hot, it's scalding, burning with so much intensity that I’m struggling to maintain control. As I move across the deck, I can hear the sizzle of each footstep as my inner flame rises to flare along my skin. My blended bloodline of Celestial and Terran means I can burn bright like a captured star, melting rock and iron like the hottest plasma. As a child, before I had control, I would melt the earth beneath my feet, creating pools of lava whenever I didn’t get my way. I’ve moved past that hatchling immaturity, learning to hone my inner fire long ago. Or so I thought. “Is this what you had to go through, Mother?” I sigh, looking up towards the heavens and the void beyond. “Was Ursa always this obstinate, or is it because it’s me?” I know she can’t hear me. What was left of her became stardust, rejoining the void
[Ona] “Her mate?” I repeat my daughter-in-law’s words slowly. “What do you mean, her mate?” But Kora doesn’t respond. Focused on her work, she presses her hands on the outer shell of the containment pod, giving Orion reassuring nods and smiles as she puts on a brave face. “Do you have an infirmary?” she blinks up at me, ignoring my previous question. “Some place with tools I could use to stabilize him.” “Yes,” I respond, all possible irritation gone when I see how heartbroken and terrified she is for my son. She’s his mate, and she risked her life and sanity to bring him safely away from the False Queen’s court. “I’ll show you.” Looking anxiously over my shoulder, I see the Merriweather begin to crumble into brittle shards as Primus continues to expand. Looking around the deck until I find my mate, I ask Daax to manage the situation. “I need to take Orion to the infirmary,” I shout across the deck while gazing beyond at my brother’s growing form. “I’m sorry, I…” “Take care
[Ona] “Her mate?” I repeat my daughter-in-law’s words slowly. “What do you mean, her mate?” But Kora doesn’t respond. Focused on her work, she presses her hands on the outer shell of the containment pod, giving Orion reassuring nods and smiles as she puts on a brave face. “Do you have an infirmary?” she blinks up at me, ignoring my previous question. “Some place with tools I could use to stabilize him.” “Yes,” I respond, all possible irritation gone when I see how heartbroken and terrified she is for my son. She’s his mate, and she risked her life and sanity to bring him safely away from the False Queen’s court. “I’ll show you.” Looking anxiously over my shoulder, I see the Merriweather begin to crumble into brittle shards as Primus continues to expand. Looking around the deck until I find my mate, I ask Daax to manage the situation. “I need to take Orion to the infirmary,” I shout across the deck while gazing beyond at my brother’s growing form. “I’m sorry, I…” “Take care
[Daax] Hearing my wife speak about her loss of trust in our daughter makes my shoulders slump as a sudden weight descends. There is so little of my family left. So few descendants of the Solarian Royal Family are still breathing. Carnelia and I are most of what is left, and our children are the only heirs remaining to a kingdom that once had so many that you could find dragons with royal blood working as simple clerks. There wasn’t enough land for all of us to control, even when our family ruled an empire so vast that it spanned half the globe. But Ona has never been wrong. Her intuition is almost prophetic. “Alright,” I sigh. “Let’s prepare the ship. Tell our men to be on the ready.” Watching my mate walk away, her head held high, makes my heart flip even as my stomach drops. It’s been a lifetime since I gave this command. I knew I’d be giving it again soon, but I assumed it would be against my captors in the north. Not against my own daughter. “Lower the masts,” I command,







